The Things We Do For Love
by Christina TM
Summary: Men do some extreme things for the women they love. Tony/Michelle fluff.


DISCLAIMER: 24 is not mine. If it were, Season 3's main focus would be Tony and Michelle's wedding.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTES: This is a true story. Well, not *totally* true, but something like this happened to a couple I used to know. I just wanted to counter that "angst" feeling I got after ONE SIMPLE TOUCH, and wrote this.  
  
RATED: PG.  
  
WARNINGS: Not really a warning, but this does deal with...female problems. Not in detail, just for laughs and to illustrate the things men *will* do for love. If you don't believe me, email me and I'll tell you the story this was based on.  
  
THE THINGS WE DO FOR LOVE  
  
Michelle placed a hand to her stomach and winced. *Dang cramps,* she thought. And she'd left her Midol in her car, too. And to top it all off, the Internet Protocol Manager was buried in paperwork. She couldn't even break away long enough for a five-minute trip out to her car.  
  
"Hey." Michelle looked up from her writing to discover her love interest, Tony, standing over her desk.  
  
"Oh, hi." Michelle tried to force a smile, but she knew there would be no fooling Tony.  
  
She was right. "What is it?" Tony asked with a concerned frown.  
  
"Nothing. Just tired," Michelle answered lamely.  
  
"Come on." Tony moved to the back of her chair and began rubbing her shoulders. "Tell me what's going on."  
  
"You wouldn't understand," Michelle said.   
  
"Try me," Tony insisted.  
  
Michelle gave a frustrated sigh. *Persistent little bugger.* "I have...girl problems," she said quietly, tilting her head up to see her boyfriend's reaction.  
  
Tony's face was blank. After another exasperated sigh, Michelle pulled his head down to hers. "It's that time of month," she growled into his ear.   
  
"Wha...oh." Michelle had to stifle a giggle as she saw Tony's face redden. "Well, I sure don't understand that."  
  
"No man does," Michelle said, leaning forward to keep writing.  
  
"Anything I can do?" Tony asked.  
  
Michelle stopped writing and debated her response. *Well, he did ask...* "There's a box of Midol on the passenger seat of my car," she said, so quickly and quietly she wondered if Tony had even heard her.  
  
He must have, because he blushed even redder. "Oh, uh...OK."  
  
"You'll get it?" Michelle asked, unable to hide her surprise.  
  
"Sure." Tony tried to smile, but Michelle could tell he was uncomfortable.  
  
"Thanks." Michelle watched her boyfriend go before she placed her arms on her desk, dropped her head onto them, and began giggling helplessly. *If anyone catches him, he'll never hear the end of this.*  
  
Tony slipped into CTU's parking garage, making sure there was nobody there to see him. *No problem,* he thought. *Just get the medicine and go back.* When he found Michelle's car, he opened the passenger's side door. The small cardboard box was on the passenger's seat as Michelle had specified, and he quickly picked it up. *There. Half done.* Now, if he could just get back to CTU without anyone seeing him...  
  
"Tony?"  
  
Tony spun around at the sound of his name. *Mission aborted.* "Oh, hey, Jack." He swallowed. "What are you doing out here?"  
  
Jack held up a floppy disk. "Had to get this out of my SUV." He cocked his head and eyed Tony. "Tony...I don't mean to pry, but...why are you in Michelle's car?"  
  
*Oh, great.* Tony groaned inwardly. How was he going to explain *that?* "Oh, well, um..." he stalled, standing fully upright.  
  
Jack's eyes darted to Tony's left hand. "What's that?"  
  
*Busted.* Tony tried to slide the medicine into his pocket before Jack could see what it was, but the other agent beat him to it.  
  
"*Midol?*" Jack's eyes widened as he saw the small box in Tony's hand. "Somehow, Tony, I don't think you're the one who needs this."  
  
Tony could feel himself blushing all the way to his hairline. "Uh, no."  
  
Jack eyed his former subordinate for another moment, then understanding dawned in his eyes. "Michelle." It was a statement, not a question.  
  
Tony cleared his throat. "Yes."  
  
Jack gave a knowing nod. "That's true love, Tony," he said with complete confidence.  
  
"Oh?" Tony raised his eyebrows, seeing a chance to get his coworker back for the humiliation. "Are you speaking from experience?"  
  
It was Jack's turn to blush. "I have to get this in to Henderson," he said quickly, making a mad dash for the building.  
  
Tony shut the door to Michelle's car, slid the Midol into his pocket and caught up with Jack. "Whoa there." He reached out and stopped Jack quickly. "Spill it."  
  
"No," Jack said decisively.  
  
"Come on," Tony persisted. "Did you ever get Teri this...um...what's it called..." he took the medication out of his pocket and read the name. "Midol?"  
  
Tony saw Jack flinch at his wife's name, and almost immediately regretted mentioning it. But the other man recovered quickly. "Worse."  
  
"Worse?" Tony asked. "What could be worse?"  
  
It was all Tony could do not to laugh out loud at the look of total discomfort that passed over Jack's face. "Come on, Tony. Are we back in high school or something?"  
  
"I'm not letting you go until you tell me," Tony said. "And if you resist long enough, Henderson will be out here looking for that floppy, and you'll have to tell *both* of us."  
  
"OK, OK," Jack sighed, defeated. Tony managed to contain a satisfied smile. "Uh, right before we got engaged, Teri and I went on a road trip up to Lake Tahoe with my brother Fred and his wife. She, well," Jack looked around and lowered his voice. "She ran out of products."  
  
Tony understood what his subordinate meant. "Ah."  
  
"And...I bought them," Jack finished sheepishly.  
  
This time Tony couldn't contain his laughter. "You're right. That's worse."  
  
"Fred found out, and he raked me over the coals," Jack continued. "After this long tirade over how men shouldn't do that, he told me he expected to see the ring on Teri's finger by the end of the week. He was right."  
  
"So, how long do I have before the ring's on Michelle's finger?" Tony asked. He knew that their relationship had been the topic of much speculation-among the female agents at least. It wouldn't surprise him a bit if there was a pool going.  
  
"I give you a month," Jack said, starting back into CTU.  
  
"Uh, Jack?" Tony asked.  
  
"Yeah?" Jack turned around.  
  
"Don't tell anyone," Tony pleaded. He didn't think Jack was likely to mention it to anyone, having been down this road himself, but it wasn't something Tony wanted circulating around CTU. The girls down in forensics would have a field day.  
  
"Your secret's safe with me," Jack said, and then headed back into CTU.  
  
*A month,* Tony thought, starting after Jack and fingering the velvety box in his other pocket. *Well, gives me time to get my nerve up.* 


End file.
